This past week, our newer members ran the show.  Susana, the veteran of this week’s cast, debuted as Toastmaster.  Lee invocated.  Russell and Ben stepped up as Timer and Grammarian, respectively.  Zahra took on Table Topics Mastering.  Robin and Kirk delivered their icebreakers.  It was refreshing to see these newer faces and personalities at the lectern.  Thank you all for your willingness to jump in to these roles.  You delivered an awesome meeting.

We have to give special honors to Kirk and Robin for their introductory speeches.

We learned that Kirk has been a sucker for an audience since a very young age, that he’s a trained actor and has been in Cats, and that he handles himself well under pressure.  Realizing that he was almost out of time but had barely scratched the surface of his speech, Kirk recovered with a hysterical “What have I been doing up here?”  He managed to wrap things up on time and leave his audience wishing he’d had more time so that we could continue to enjoy his presentation.  Kirk, we look forward to the next speech.

Similarly, Robin left us hungry for more.  We learned that he’s a masterful storyteller in that he was able to give us a ton of information about himself that was all woven together through a theme of fried chicken.  Robin’s speech was a wonderful example of how the organization of an icebreaker doesn’t necessarily need to be chronological.  All the talk of fried chicken aside, we learned that Robin wasn’t much of a journaler as a kid, that he has a heart for radio, and that he’s a warm weather guy.  Robin, we look forward to learning more about you too.

So new folks, you rock, and we’re thrilled to have you.

The meeting wasn’t all about the new members.  Zahra called on the veterans for table topics.   Stuart identified the wheelchair as his tool five years from now and explained that he’ll still be working given the recent events related to his 401K.  Lora explained that her greatest accomplishment of late is that she keeps on keeping on and that she was inspired by Corky’s speech to come up with a plan for herself.  Finally, Patrick talked a bunch of turkey…I mean chicken.  He wants to build a chicken coop and is looking for volunteers willing to help.

Maria did a wonderful job as General Evaluator for the meeting.  Louis and Taline offered some tips and much praise as the evaluators for Kirk and Robin.

Whether you’re new to this club or you’ve been around a long time, know that your willingness to participate makes our meetings.  Your presence matters.  Be there this week if you can.  And don’t forget to bring a guest!

  • Best Table Topic: Patrick
  • Best Speaker:  Kirk
  • Best Evaluation:  Taline
  • Most Enthusiastic:  Kirk
  • Best Humor:  Robin